Matt Freese saved the U.S. men’s national soccer team from an embarrassing loss in the CONCACAF Gold Cup in Minneapolis on Sunday.
The New York City FC goalkeeper made three saves on Costa Rica’s six attempts in a penalty kick shootout for the U.S. to advance through the quarterfinal stage. After his third save, he stuck out his tongue in defiance.
The U.S. will play Guatemala in a semifinal in St. Louis on Wednesday.
U.S. defender Max Arfsten had two lows and one high. The Columbus Crew left back conceded a penalty kick that allowed Costa Rica to take a 1-0 lead in the first half. Then he scored early in the second half to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead. But another defensive error from Arfsten led to Costa Rica leveling the match at 2-2 in the 71st minute.
After Arfsten’s poor foul in the box, former Loons captain Francisco Calvo converted on a penalty to give Costa Rica a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute. Calvo was one of three players Freese denied during PKs.
Malik Tillman missed a PK for the U.S. in the 37th minute, but Diego Luna scored off a big deflection to make it 1-1 just before halftime.
Better crowd
At the start of the tournament, the U.S. couldn’t fill two much-smaller MLS stadiums, with only 12,610 in San Jose on June 15 and 11,727 in Austin on June 19.
The Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium in Arlington had plenty of good seats available on June 22, and the U.S. and Hait played in front of an announced attendance of 20,918.
CONCACAF announced Sunday’s attendance at 32,289, but that is less than half of the 66,200-seat capacity. No fans sat in the third deck.
‘Let the team down’
Minnesota United fans have enjoyed goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair prowess on penalty kicks over the years, especially in the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs series with Real Salt Lake.
Fans of the Canadian soccer weren’t so fortunate Sunday as Guatemala won 6-5 after seven rounds of penalty kicks.
“Especially in penalties where I know I’m so good at, part of me feels like I let the team down a little bit,” St. Clair told reporters postgame. “Of course, penalties can go either way, but I know how strong I can be in those moments. Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way.”
St. Clair didn’t single out if one PK bothered him more, but he went the correct way on the first two penalties but shots barely eked past him.
“He guesses right on the first two and (if) he can get more of a solid hand on it, then maybe he makes a save,” coach Jesse Marsch said. “That is how you look at penalties, right. It’s the margin for error once you get (there).”
Fellow Loons player, striker Tani Oluwaseyi, had a header saved off the line by a Guatemala fullback Aaron Herrera in the 14th minute, but Oluwasyi drew the penalty kick later in the first half after Herrera was whistled for contact in the box. Jonathan David converted from the spot.
Guatemala fans, who made up an overwhelming majority of the crowd for the first quarterfinal, booed relentlessly after the PK was awarded and converted.
With Canada’s loss, St. Clair and Oluwaseyi will rejoin the Loons with plenty of time to prepare before the away match versus FC Dallas on Friday.
Demolished on world stage
The FIFA Club World Cup was forgettable for the three MLS teams in the other major tournament in the U.S. this summer.
Inter Miami, the only team to advance out to the round of 16, were throttled in a 4-0 loss Sunday to Paris St. Germain, the UEFA Champions League winner.
Seattle and Los Angeles FC didn’t make it out of the group stage.
All three teams combined for one win, six losses and three draws, with a minus-11 goal differential.
Briefly
The tighter dimensions at U.S. Bank Stadium have been referenced as a reason why the FIFA World Cup will not come to Minnesota next summer. The standard dimensions are 115 yards long by 74 yards wide; U.S. Bank Stadium’s measurements were 110 by 70. … Here’s one context on Guatemala’s upset. They are ranked the 106th-best team in the world, per FIFA, while Canada comes in at 30th. Meanwhile, USA checks in at 16th and Costa Rica 54th.
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